The first Syracuse Chiefs baseball team was established in 1934, when the International League's Jersey City Skeeters moved to Syracuse and were (re)named the Chiefs. The team played in the IL through 1955 (winning five championships), but was sold and moved to Miami as the Marlins for the 1956 campaign.

Syracuse was without professional baseball until the 1961 season, when the Montreal Royals franchise was abandoned by its owners (the Los Angeles Dodgers) and returned to Syracuse, becoming the Syracuse Chiefs.

The Chiefs have played in Syracuse without interruption since their rebirth in 1961. The team was renamed the SkyChiefs in 1997. The name reverted to the original "Chiefs" in December 2006.[6]

From 1978 to 2008, the Chiefs were the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The three-decade Toronto–Syracuse affiliation is the longest of the 11 major league affiliations the Chiefs have had since 1936.

The Chiefs played at MacArthur Stadium from 1934 to 1996, moving to then-P&C Stadium in 1997.

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On September 20, 2008, the Chiefs signed a two-year affiliation agreement with the Washington Nationals, ending their relationship with the Blue Jays.

In 2008, the Chiefs wore a decal on their uniforms with the letters "HB" to commemorate Harold Berman (former member of the Chiefs' board of directors), who died after the 2007 season. In 2009, the Chiefs wore a decal on their uniforms with the letters "HM" to commemorate Hy Miller (former state assemblyman and former director on the Chiefs' board), who died after the 2008 season.

In 2010 the Chiefs celebrated their 50th season of community-owned baseball (1961–2010), wearing 1961 jerseys during every Thursday home game. They also brought back radio announcers from the past, such as Syracuse University alumnus Sean McDonough and Dan Hoard. The Chiefs went 76–67, with top pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg going 2–1 in five appearances.

In 2011 the Chiefs played in their 51st season of community ownership, wearing throwback jerseys at every Thursday home game in celebration of the 35th anniversary of their last International League Governors' Cup championship team (managed by Syracuse Wall of Fame member, former manager Bobby Cox). The Chiefs added four alternate jerseys to their rotation for the season: one for Latin American Day, a second for Jackie Robinson Day (commemorating Negro League uniforms), a third for national holidays such as Independence Day and Memorial Day, and a fourth for Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The Chiefs played the Pawtucket Red Sox on August 20 at Fenway Park as part of a doubleheader in conjunction with the sixth annual Futures at Fenway event, featuring games involving Boston Red Sox minor-league teams. The Chiefs, behind starter Brad Meyers, defeated the PawSox 3–1 before more than 29,000 fans. At Alliance Bank Stadium (now NBT Bank Stadium) the Chiefs added a "Home Plate Club" to the stadium: premium seating in the first four rows behind home plate, with waitstaff for merchandise and concessions.

On May 14, Chiefs DHMichael Aubrey went 4 for 4 (all hits home runs) in an 11–0 victory over the Durham Bulls, becoming only the second player in team history to hit four home runs in a game (Gene Locklear hit four home runs in one game on July 14, 1977). On August 27, Stephen Strasburg pitched his only rehab game for the Chiefs, against the Rochester Red Wings. He gave up two hits in the sixth inning (his only hits allowed before departing, with the Chiefs leading 1–0), although he received no decision in Syracuse's 4–3 win which won the Thruway Cup for the third time (their other wins were in 1999 and 2010). The club's record for the season was 66–74, 14 games out of first place and fourth in the six-team North Division.

The 2013 season was managed by Tony Beasley in his second season with the team and began on April 4, 2013 in Allentown PA, vs. the Lehigh Valley IronPigs; the Chiefs' home opener was April 12, also vs. the IronPigs. On "Throwback Thursdays," the Chiefs wore jerseys from the 1983-1996 era.

On September 30, 2013, it was announced that General Manager of over 16 years John Simone would be relieved of his position as well as any member of the family associated with the team including Assistant GM Mike Vounitas. On October 8, 2013 it was announced former Auburn Doubledays GM Jason Smorol would fill the same position in Syracuse as well as bringing over Jason Horbal as Assistant. This was the first time since 1970 that someone without the last name Simone was General Manager of Syracuse as John Simone took over the spot from his dad Anthony "Tex Simone" in 1997

On April 3, 2014 the Syracuse Chiefs opened the season with a loss at home to Scranton Wilkes/Barre Railriders. The 2014 season started an aggressive promotion campaign which includes, Social Media Monday, Two for One tickets on Tuesday, Winning Wednesday, Dollar Thursday, Fireworks Friday, Giveaway Saturday and Family Sunday. The Chiefs also have sold out the outfield wall, dugouts and field tarp bringing in around 0.5 million in advertisement sales.

On July 1, 2014 the Chiefs introduced Tattoo night sponsored by Carmelo's Ink City which was a promotion that included the first 36 fans in attendance to tattoo the current Chiefs main logo would be given free General Admission tickets for life. This promotion made news both locally and nationally including MSNBC, ESPN, The Today Show, Washington Post, and USA Today. Over 20 fans were turned away as all tattoo's were reserved over 2 hours before that nights first pitch.

The Chiefs are owned by the Community Baseball Club of Central New York, Inc., "a community-owned club, controlled by a [13-person] board of directors,"[2][7][8][9] acting on behalf of approximately 4,000 shareholders, who together hold 15,857 shares.[9]

According to Dick Ryan, a "former club chairman of the board and treasurer," a majority of the shares "are owned by people who own one or two shares."[7] Shares in the club were first sold in 1961, at a price of $10 each; as of 2011, shares had a resale value of approximately $126, but are not publicly traded. A provision in the Chief's certificate of corporation states that "no one may vote more than 500 shares."[7] This provision is intended to make it difficult for the club to be sold and moved to another location, as happened earlier in its history.[7]

Among those serving on the organization's Board of Directors are Stephen A. Rogers, Chairman, Syracuse Media Group;[8] and Crandall Melvin III, "a software executive from Syracuse and the team's largest single shareholder with 502 shares."[9]

Dutch is a partner in Chiefs First LLC, an investment company established in September 2013, which loaned the Chiefs $500,000 in return for 600 shares and control of the team's new, 13-member board.[10]

The Chiefs have been operating at a loss since 2006, except for the 2010 season when they ended the season $100,000 in the black. The team lost $973,516 in the 2013 season, on operating expenses of $3.1 million.[11][12]

Locally games are broadcast on the Chiefs' flagship station, WSKO "The Score" 1260 am, and globally on SyracuseChiefs.com All games are broadcast by Eric Gallanty and Kevin Brown. In addition, all Chiefs' games are broadcast on MiLB.TV, an internet video subscription service. Select games are broadcast live on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel (TWCS) a central New York regional sports channel provided on Time Warner Cable services throughout the Central and Northern New York area. The games on TWCS are called by Brown and Steve Grilli, Syracuse Wall of Fame member and former Major Leaguer. All games against thruway rivals Rochester or Buffalo are broadcast on TWCS and fed between the cities, with the host city providing the presentation and announcers.[citation needed]

Writer Ken Levine based the Springfield Isotopes minor league team in The Simpsons episode Dancin' Homer on experiences as an announcer for the Syracuse Chiefs. The episode includes references to former announcer Dan Hoard and owner Anthony "Tex" Simone (named Antoine "Tex" O'Hara in the episode).

The Chiefs gained national media attention for a promotion planned for 2014's Tattoo Appreciation Night, where anyone who got a tattoo of their "C" logo would receive free tickets to Chiefs games for life.[19]